Who likes AK type rifles?

[kimberkid]

I would like them more if the rear sight wasn't so darn far from my eyeball, my eyes don't work so well anymore

I put a Texas Weapons top-cover (which has a picitinny railing) and cammed spring rod/locking button on one of my AKM’s , with a peep sight at the back, which makes a very long sight radius and that alone cut my group size in half. (I’ve also mounted red-dots & LPVO’s)
This is a Bulgarian Arsenal SLR-95 with MagPul furniture .

 

[kimberkid]

{Snip}

And I since we are talking about AKs....
I have a couple binary triggers. Anyone have one for their AK?
I am not a mag dump guy. What I end up doing on the HK is two round burst. My brain seems to be able to pull trigger and release trigger. I think this would be great if I really needed to stop someone. Two and then change target.
I just wish they had one which works with an underfolder and regular selector lever.

I’ve got several binary triggers, I think everything except an AK … my favorite are the HK & 10-22. The AR & Scorpion are okay but the lighter recoiling rounds with lighter weight bolt carriers are easier to control & stay on target. As you mentioned 2 shots then reacquire your target. I had put one in my HK51 clone, the 3rd shot, if I were to take it would have been a foot over my point of aim, I’m sure that with practice I could improve that but I don’t see the point of wasting the time or ammo.

 

[WrongHanded]

I recently bought my first AK.

A Zastava ZPAP M70. And so far I'm really enjoying it. I haven't yet figured out exactly how accurate it is, though I think to do so with irons I would need a black piece of paper 35cm high and 25cm wide, 100m away from a solid rested position. Perhaps next time I go out. But based on casual observations (I don't measure many groups from it), it's a 3-4MOA rifle in my hands with Wolf and Global Ordinance ammo.

Doesn't mean I like it any less though.

And let's not forget that Mikhail Kalashnikov created the AK-47 on the heels of WWII where his country was invaded by the Nazis and a major city put under siege. Communist or not, he was a patriot who wanted a combat rifle that was easy to mass produce, effective, reliable, and would keep up with the technology of the enemy so that his country could better defend itself against invasion.

 

[crestoncowboy]

I'm the same way. I'm a true gun nut so I like it all.

I have even grown fond of the few guns I hated. Lol. I still acknowledge the shortcomings but actually have a good collections of several guns I first hated.

I was a Glock hater for years. Carried a Beretta/Sig/ or USP. Now I have Many Glock and prefer them to all the others (which I do still have).

I hated the Beretta 950/21A/jetfire etc etc. Inaccurate, stiff, one piece trigger guard spring/awful sights. Now I have many. And all those faults are still there. But I like them

I hated the third gen Smiths, heavy for capacity, sorry triggers, some known to jam (1076)..now I have several and enjoy them. Same for P-series Ruger.

I hated the 422 Smith. Poor ergos, mediocre accuracy, horrible mag release "not a mk or woodsman/buckmark/victory/high standard etc" ...now I have a few. Lol

Really the AR was the same. Jam-o-matic, weak, varmint gun... etc etc. Are all I heard growing up. I had a Garand, a few M1 carbine, even an SKS. Several AK....piss on AR. Then the ban died and I bought a sorry Olympic "before they ban em again". Then a Cheap Windham at Walmart when they discontinued selling those...then a few "real" LE marked Colt. Then an FN. Then a 20 inch white oak... id say I'm pretty close AK to AR now. Lol

 

[crestoncowboy]

it's a 3-4MOA

And really, I've seen (and own today) a lot of 700 mountain and pre 64 winchester, savage 99, lever action winchester etc...that aren't much better. If you fed them some comblock steel cased crap from a spam can they would be 3-4 MOA or worse and they are sought after and loved guns. Lol. And not chrome lined

People today don't realize that a lot of those old "jewels " had to go to a gunsmith like Townsend to even be what a sorry Axis can do today. Winchester even marketed that one in one hundred of his was accurate. Then took it farther with the one of that group that shot best as "one of one hundred". Mostly marketing but an acknowledgement that a lot of them didn't shoot like they could.

So year 5 moa would be rough today, but ive seen several bolt guns do it with ammo they didn't like. And in 5 45 you are stuck with frap ammo. 7.62 does have a few better options but very few pay for those. Lol. With tula my white oak probably wouldn't do better than 3-4. Who knows

 

[Styx]

Yep, I shall say again, for "civil defense" it will be very difficult to positively I.D. if something/someone is a threat at 300 yards. And certainly not 400-500-600 yards. (although I can hit a people size torso target at 500 yards consistently with an Ak, SKS, 91/59, M1 or Mauser) (can't tell if it's a good guy or bad guy though) But plenty of distance to escape and evade, or reach some kind of safety or defendable position.

And really, I've seen (and own today) a lot of 700 mountain and pre 64 winchester, savage 99, lever action winchester etc...that aren't much better. If you fed them some comblock steel cased crap from a spam can they would be 3-4 MOA or worse and they are sought after and loved guns. Lol. And not chrome lined

7.62x39 out of an AR15, Mini 30, a bolt action rifle, etc isn’t a long distance accuracy round especially with the most commonly used steel cased ammo. Most will use inexpensive steel case ammo for AKs then use more precision ammo in AR15s, and claim AKs are inaccurate. The AK can be had in .223/5.56, 5.45x39, and 308win if you want a flatter shooting long distance round.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

My hot take is that the SKS is the unjammable, indestructible rifle that everyone thinks the AK is.

 

[Styx]

My hot take is that the SKS is the unjammable, indestructible rifle that everyone thinks the AK is.

Why can't both be true? Both are reliable platforms? I don't believe AKs would have still to this day be as popular as they are and as widely used if they were unreliable and finicky. The SKS wouldn't still be loved by many today years after it stopped being manufactured if it too wasn't a good rifle. The AK just has higher capacity, a plothera of inexpensive reliable magazines on on market, more aftermarket support, has a easily switched out pistol grips and stocks of all types, and is still in production around the world. That's probably why AKs are more of a topic of conversation over the SKS, but both can get the job done in the right hands. (Yes, I know you can bubba and Tapco a SKS to mimick an "assault rifle.")

 

[Savage30L]

If Valmet made the M78 in a left-hand version, I'd be all over it.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

Why can't both be true? Both are reliable platforms? I don't believe AKs would have still to this day be as popular as they are and as widely used if they were unreliable and finicky. The SKS wouldn't still be loved by many today years after it stopped being manufactured if it too wasn't a good rifle. The AK just has higher capacity, a plothera of inexpensive reliable magazines on on market, more aftermarket support, has a easily switched out pistol grips and stocks of all types, and is still in production around the world. That's probably why AKs are more of a topic of conversation over the SKS, but both can get the job done in the right hands. (Yes, I know you can bubba and Tapco a SKS to mimick an "assault rifle.")

Well, this is why it's a hot take.

A lot of lower end AKs in America don't run that well. Your Century Arms builds, your PSA rifles, they have all kind of bugs with them. They're decidedly commercial grade rifles.

The quality AK builds like Arsenals, or the near-military issue rifles like MAK 90s all run like tops. But the two tier AK market is sort of reminiscent of 2000s ARs. The Armalites and the Colts will be reliable, but if you buy a DPMS, you're taking your chances.

The AR never came with the AK's reputation for memetic reliability though. And I feel like the bottom half of the AK market is riding those coattails.

SKSes almost never come in anything but surplus military issue. And none faced the 922r issue of drunk-monkey kit rebuilds. They're all rock solid.

Some AKs are rock solid, some are a little junky. And they all tend to get painted with the rock solid, dead-nuts reliable brush.

 

[Styx]

Well, this is why it's a hot take.

A lot of lower end AKs in America don't run that well. Your Century Arms builds, your PSA rifles, they have all kind of bugs with them. They're decidedly commercial grade rifles.

The quality AK builds like Arsenals, or the near-military issue rifles like MAK 90s all run like tops. But the two tier AK market is sort of reminiscent of 2000s ARs. The Armalites and the Colts will be reliable, but if you buy a DPMS, you're taking your chances.

The AR never came with the AK's reputation for memetic reliability though. And I feel like the bottom half of the AK market is riding those coattails.

SKSes almost never come in anything but surplus military issue. And none faced the 922r issue of drunk-monkey kit rebuilds. They're all rock solid.

Some AKs are rock solid, some are a little junky. And they all tend to get painted with the rock solid, dead-nuts reliable brush.

That's true. AKs unlike the SKS are manufactured in several different countries including the US by different manufacturers. I wouldn't be interested in a Century or PSA AK either as they cut corners to bring prices down, but those are typically the least expensive and what most casual AK owners will gravitate to as the prices of the imported military grade AKs are $1k or much more now. Whether you get a good AK depends on who imported it and where it came from unlike with the SKS.

I blame Century monkeys for most of the negative stereotypes that plague the AK in the American market. They had to put their dirty hands on all the AKs they imported years ago, e.i., cut out magwells, install American made barrels and trigger, etc because of U.S. firearm import laws, and they bubbed everything up.

Some paint on that they ALL are rock solid, while others get a crappy Century or the like AK and then think the entire platform is like that. It goes both ways. I agree though that what Century and PSA are selling are on riding the coattails of reputation of military grade AKs built in century old factories.

 

[bannockburn]

Getting an AR-15 was for me a no brainer; easy to shoot, lots of surplus accessories (especially magazines), and inexpensive ammo. Besides which I always wanted one.

Getting an AK47 was also on my To-Do list for pretty much the same reason. Both are battle proven weapons and the next best thing to a full auto version of each (also less costly to feed)!

 

[tarosean]

My hot take is that the SKS is the unjammable, indestructible rifle that everyone thinks the AK is.

Yet I think it wasn’t worth the 69 bucks 40yrs ago (yes I owned several)

 

[Ugly Sauce]

And in 5 45 you are stuck with frap ammo.

I've gone through a few cases of Russian 5.45 and it has been very good quality, accurate ammo.

 

[Rubone]

My only AK based rifle is a bit of an oddball, but quite accurate for what it is.
Norinco "Hunter" ban era, milled receiver, 20" barrel. It came with about a 5 pound bolt on scope mount too! Uses any AK mag.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

My only AK based rifle is a bit of an oddball, but quite accurate for what it is.
Norinco "Hunter" ban era, milled receiver, 20" barrel. It came with about a 5 pound bolt on scope mount too! Uses any AK mag.
View attachment 1157844

That's a funky trigger!

 

[Rubone]

That's a funky trigger!

Yup, but interestingly it actually works. It goes up, not back.

 

[drobs]

If Valmet made the M78 in a left-hand version, I'd be all over it.

AK's are one of the most left hand friendly rifles out there.
You left hand holds the pistol grip, your right works the action, safety, and magazine release.

 

[mshootnit]

To me the AK is the quintessential “bad guy” gun. Communists, terrorists, guerillas… whoever the media tells me is bad, they’re probably packing an AK with an iconic banana-shaped, curved mag and lots of bluing wear. Gives it a romance that an AR can never have. And I think it upsets gun-banners even more than an AR because of the scary “enemy” imagery.

Part of it is the Viernam war. Here these tough rifles showed up that hit like a hammer and just kept sawing away no matter what. Steel banana clip. Impressive sustained fire perfect for jungle

 

[481]

AK's are one of the most left hand friendly rifles out there.
You left hand holds the pistol grip, your right works the action, safety, and magazine release.

Indeed it is. I've run non-dominant drills (I'm a righty, so left is my non-dominant side) with my AKs (all Arsenal milled rifles in 7.62x39) and the strong forward ejection pattern negates the need for a case deflector like that seen in the AR. Ejection is vigorous—so much so that I could probably defend my forward right flank with spent empties.

 

[Plano11]

My only AK based rifle is a bit of an oddball, but quite accurate for what it is.
Norinco "Hunter" ban era, milled receiver, 20" barrel. It came with about a 5 pound bolt on scope mount too! Uses any AK mag.
View attachment 1157844

I am a big AK fan and i have never come across one of these, is it all original?

 

[brunowbe]

I am a big AK fan and i have never come across one of these, is it all original?

The model is a Norinco model 386 Hunter, it looks original to me. Here is one that was for auction a while ago:
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/2053/356/norinco--386-ak47-hunter

 

[Plano11]

The model is a Norinco model 386 Hunter, it looks original to me. Here is one that was for auction a while ago:
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/2053/356/norinco--386-ak47-hunter

Thanks for taking the time to get me some info, I really like it and ill like to add one to my collection.

 

[crestoncowboy]

I've gone through a few cases of Russian 5.45 and it has been very good quality, accurate ammo.

It seems better than some crappy steel 7 62 ammo. But cheap steel cased coated ammo is not going to be black hill match either....or they would have went the extra mile and used brass.

I do believe Hornady made some brass cased ammo after I stopped using the 5.45 though.

My point is that if you bought Tula or Wolf or bear (silver or brown), sportsmans choice etc etc 5.56 and used it in my 12FV or CZ bolt actions....they wouldn't be know as tack drivers either. And that's what all AK get fed 99% of the time. So the ammo plays a part in the "inaccurate" part of the AK. Chrome lining too. My 5.45 AKs are pretty accurate compared to the 7 62 I've used.

 

[Uffdaphil]

I bought a bunch of brass case Norma Tac 124 grain for my CMMG Banshee and will try it once in my AKM to see if groups improve. AK’s are fun, but if steel 7.62x39 had not been so cheap when I stocked up I probably would have just stuck with 5.56 and .308.